North Dakota Beats St. Cloud State 4-1

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Brock Nelson scored twice as North Dakota beat St. Cloud State 4-1 in the quarterfinals of the WCHA Final Five.

Nelson got off a wrist shot from 15 feet out that fooled Huskies goalie Mike Lee, breaking a 1-1 tie in the second period and added an empty-net goal as the Fighting Sioux got one step closer to a three-peat in the WCHA's postseason tournament. Corban Knight got North Dakota's first goal, and Danny Kristo had another empty-netter.

Ben Hanowski's power play goal was the only marker for St. Cloud State, which got 24 saves from Lee in its final game of the season.

North Dakota will face WCHA regular season champion Minnesotaon Friday night at 7 p.m. in the semifinals.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)